Method and apparatus for providing an integrated communications, navigation and surveillance satellite system

ABSTRACT

A system provides integrated communications, navigation and surveillance capabilities. The system includes a space segment having a plurality of satellites broadcasting multiple navigation signals and a communication signal. A user segment includes a user device that is operable to broadcast communication signals to the satellites and of using the navigation signals broadcast by the satellites to determine a position of the user device. The satellites are operable to receive the communication signals from the user device and determine a position of the user device based upon the received communication signals. The satellites broadcast one of the navigation signals and the communication signal at a same frequency. The navigation signal acts as a pilot tone for the system to acquire and synchronize the user device with the system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/972,355 filed on Oct. 5, 2001, and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. _____,the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a global integrated communications,navigation and surveillance satellite system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Current satellite systems provide positioning and time information bybroadcasting navigation signals to properly equipped users. For example,a the US Global Positioning System (GPS) consists of 24 satellitesorbiting the earth twice a day at an altitude of approximately twelvethousand miles, as well as a network of ground stations to monitor andmanage the satellite constellation. The GPS satellites transmitcontinuous Navigation Data and Ranging (NDR) information 24 hours a daytoward the earth. A GPS receiver which properly decodes, tracks andinterprets these transmissions from the GPS satellites can compute theposition of the GPS receiver as well as determine accurate time. Thebasic functioning of GPS and GPS receivers, is well known in the art.The GPS satellite system currently broadcasts for civilian use aStandard Positioning Service (SPS) on a single frequency (1575.42 MHz)called L1. The current GPS receivers and the GPS satellites are notcapable of two-way commuication with each other. GPS is a broadcast onlyservice.

The GPS was conceived, designed and deployed as a military forceenhancement. Consequently much of the capability of the GPS (i.e. thePrecise Positioning Service or PPS) is not available to Civil users.Furthermore, even the GPS SPS service which is available to the civilcommunity was not designed with adequate integrity, reliability oravailability necessary to support safety of life civil applications.Furthermore, the SPS includes a relatively low power signal on only asingle frequency and is consequently vulnerable to intentional orunintentional interference. These problems with the integrity androbustness of the civil GPS services are well known in the art.

As the SPS signals travel from the GPS satellites to the GPS receiversthe SPS signals travel through the ionosphere which encircles the earth.The ionosphere acts as a dispersive medium and refracts the SPS signalsas they travel through the ionosphere. As a result, the SPS signals donot appear to travel at the speed of light, which is assumed in thecalculation of the position of the GPS receiver. The ionospheric induceddelay in the reception of the SPS signals limits the accuracy of thedetermination of the position of the GPS receiver and is the largestlocation dependent error source in the calculation of the position ofthe GPS receiver. Therefore, the use of the GPS SPS signals to compute aposition of the GPS receiver has limited accuracy and cannot be used forapplications requiring a high degree of precision in the determinationof the position of the GPS receiver.

To overcome the aforementioned shortcomings of the GPS, a number ofspace based augmentation systems (SBAS) are under development. Forexample, there are currently three SBAS systems under developmentworld-wide: the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) under developmentby the Federal Aviation Administration; the European GeostationaryNavigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) under development by the EuropeanSpace Agency in conjunction with EURO CONTROL and the European Union;and the MTSAT Satellite Augmentation System (MSAS) under development bythe Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau. These SBASs provide for a way tomeasure and correct for the ionospheric delay caused by the SPS signalstraveling through the ionosphere on its way toward earth and provide forbasic integrity monitoring of the GPS SPS service sufficient to meet therequirements for civil aviation applications. However, all these SBASwill operate on the same GPS L1 frequency and will ultimately depend onthe availability of basic GPS SPS. Hence SBAS does little or nothing toaddress the robustness concerns of GPS.

The electron density of the ionosphere varies as a function ofgeographic location. In a vectorized, wide area differential solutionsuch as that employed by an SBAS, a large number of sampling locationsare needed to compute an accurate model of the variation of the timedelay induced in a signal traveling through various locations in theionosphere. Therefore, in order to get adequate sampling of the state ofthe ionosphere, the SBASs employ a number of reference stations over awide region that are fixed to the earth. These reference stations areconnected via a ground based telecommunications network to a centralprocessing facility. Each reference station observes the transmitted SPSsignals from the GPS satellites visible at the reference station,performs some signal integrity monitoring, and passes the data on to thecentral processing facility via the ground based telecommunicationsnetwork. These stations also track a component of the PPS using acodeless tracking technique in order to make dual frequency measurementsof the ionosphere. The central processing facility uses the data fromthe reference stations to compute “wide-area” differential correctionswhere separate corrections are given for various satellite pseudo rangeerror components. The SBASs then provide estimates of the verticalionospheric delay at predefined grid points over the region covered bythe SBAS to users of the SBAS. The estimates are broadcast from the SBASto the user via a satellite link which is designed to be very similar toa GPS signal. The GPS receiver can then compute an estimate of theionospheric delay for each pseudo range based on the user's location andthe geometry of the satellites and compute its position more accuratelyby accounting for the ionospheric delay in the SPS signals and byapplying the other differential correction components included in theSBAS signal.

The SBAS architecture is attractive in that it supports operations overa wide area and may even be capable of providing a level of servicesufficient to support category 1 precision approach aircraft operations.However, the complexity and cost of such a system makes it impracticalfor most States or regions to consider employing such a system.Particularly, the cost of the ground based telecommunications networkcan be very significant. Also, in order to get good sampling of theionosphere and a more accurate grid of the errors introduced by theionosphere, a large number of reference stations are required, which inturn increases the cost of connecting all the reference stations withthe ground based telecommunication networks.

Therefore, it is desirable to develop a system and method for accuratelymeasuring and correcting the time delay induced in signals travelingthrough the ionosphere. Additionally, it is desirable to perform theionospheric delay sampling without the need for an extensive network ofground based monitoring stations. It is also desirable to providemonitoring stations without the need for the monitoring stations to beconnected to the central processing facility by expensive ground basedtelecommunication networks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus forproviding a global communication, navigation and surveillance (GCNS)system that overcomes the shortcomings of the GPS without the need foran extensive SBAS. Additionally, the present invention provides for anentirely new class of capabilities heretofore unavailable with eitherthe GPS or SBAS.

In one preferred embodiment, the GCNS system of the present inventionmakes use of a plurality of time synchronized satellites. Each satellitebroadcasts multiple navigation signals, can engage in two-waycommunications, and can receive and relay surveillance signals. Eachsatellite of the plurality of satellites is part of a network thatallows each satellite of the plurality of satellites to communicate withany other satellite of the plurality of satellites. There is aterrestrial segment that has a processing apparatus that is capable oftwo way communication with any satellite of the plurality of satellitesthrough the network. There is also at least one mobile user device thatis capable of two-way communication with the plurality of satellites.The at least one user device can directly communicate with eachsatellite of the plurality of satellites that are within a line of sightof the user device and with the remaining satellites through thenetwork. The at least one user device is also capable of receiving thenavigation signals broadcast by the plurality of satellites andcomputing a position of the at least one user device based on thereceived navigation signals. The at least one user device can broadcasta surveillance signal to the plurality of satellites so that theposition of the at least one user device can be computed by theprocessing apparatus.

Preferably, the surveillance signal broadcast by the at least one userdevice is a dual frequency surveillance signal which the processingapparatus uses to compute correction factors for ionospheric inducedtime delays in signals traveling through the ionosphere between the atleast one user device and each satellite of the plurality of satellitesthat received the surveillance signal. The processing apparatus usingthe correction factors and the surveillance signals can compute a moreaccurate position of the user device. Preferably, the correction factorsare transmitted to the at least one user device so that the at least oneuser device can use the correction factors along with navigation signalsto compute a more accurate position of the at least one user device. TheGCNS system thereby provides surveillance capabilities for the pluralityof satellites that correct for ionospheric delay and also provides theat least one user device with correction factors so that a more accurateposition of the at least one user device can be computed by the at leastone user device.

Preferably, each satellite of the plurality of satellites hascommunication switching capabilities so that each satellite of theplurality of satellites can route communication signals to a desiredrecipient. The network can be formed by having each satellite of theplurality of satellites directly communicating with at least two othersatellites of the plurality of satellites, with at least two groundstations, or with at least one other satellite of the plurality ofsatellites and at least one ground station so that redundantcommunication paths exist and each satellite of the plurality ofsatellites is capable of communicating with any other satellite of theplurality of satellites either directly or through the network.

Preferably, the at least one user device is one of a plurality of userdevices with each user device of the plurality of user devices providingdual frequency surveillance signals to the plurality of satellites. Theprocessing apparatus is capable of using the dual frequency surveillancesignals to compute a model which describes variation of an ionosphericinduced time delay in signals traveling through the ionosphere as afunction of geographic location. Correction factors for the ionosphericinduced time delay in signals passing through the ionosphere arecomputed for each line of sight between the plurality of user devicesand the plurality of satellites that receive the surveillance signals.The model along with the correction factors are broadcast by theplurality of satellites so that a device capable of receiving andprocessing these broadcasts can use the navigation signals along withthe model and correction factors to compute a more accurate position ofthe device. The GCNS system thereby provides a map of the ionospherealong with correction factors to allow for increased accuracy in thedetermination of the position of one of the user devices without theneed for extensive use of ground based monitoring stations. Because theionospheric delay scales linearly with frequency, the ionospheric delaymodel broadcast by the system can be used to correct for ionosphericdelay on any frequency used by the system. Consequently, improvedaccuracy can be achieved for single frequency navigation or surveillanceusers.

The GCNS system also provides the ability to verify the accuracy of theposition determined by a user device. The user device can broadcast itscomputed position (based on received navigation signals) along with thesurveillance signals. The processing apparatus can use the surveillancesignal broadcast by a user device to compute a position of the userdevice. The location of the user device based on the surveillancesignals can be compared to the reported position of the user device todetermine the difference between the two computed positions. Thiscomparison provides a degree of integrity checking to the system. If thepositions differ by more than a predetermined amount an error isprobably occurring somewhere in the system and the processing apparatuscan perform a system integrity check of the plurality of satellites toverify that each satellite is broadcasting correct navigation signals.Additionally, the GCNS system can notify the user device of thedifference between the two computed positions and whether the systemintegrity has been verified so that the user can have a correct positionof the user device.

Monitoring stations can be provided that are fixed on the earth at knownpositions and are capable of receiving the navigation signal and oftwo-way communication with the plurality of satellites. The monitoringstations can operate similarly to the user devices. The monitoringstations can monitor the navigation signals and compute the indicatedposition of the monitoring station based on the navigation signals sothat the integrity of the system can be checked. The monitoring stationscan also broadcast dual frequency surveillance signals to the satellitesso that the delay in signals travelling through the ionosphere betweenthe monitoring stations and the satellites that receive the surveillancesignals can be measured and corrected for. In this way, adequatesampling of the ionosphere can be achieved even in geographic regionswhere user densities are too low to otherwise provide a large enoughnumber of ionospheric delay observations.

Additional capabilities are also realized with the GCNS system. When auser device is not able to receive the navigation signals beingbroadcast by the plurality of satellites the user device can communicateto the GCNS system that it is not receiving the navigation signals. Theprocessing apparatus can then perform a system integrity check to ensurethat the plurality of satellites are properly broadcasting thenavigation signals. If the plurality of satellites are found to beoperating correctly, then either the user device is malfunctioning orthere is an interference source that is interfering with the receptionof the navigation signals by the user device. When there are a pluralityof user devices within a region that report not receiving navigationsignals and the satellites are found to be operating correctly, theprocessing apparatus can use the positions of the plurality of userdevices (computed based upon surveillance signals sent by the userdevices) to determine the probable location of an interference sourcethat is preventing the reception of the navigation signals. The GCNSsystem can then report the problem and the probable location of theinterference source to a desired recipient such as a state's frequencymanagement authority. In this manner, the operation of the GCNS systemcan be continually monitored and probable locations of interferencesources can be determined.

The GCNS system provides a robust navigation capability because thetightly coupled communications, navigation and surveillance capabilitiesallow the surveillance and navigation capabilities to act as a backupfor each other. For example, if one of the plurality of user devices isunable to receive the navigation signals broadcast by the plurality ofsatellites, the system can use the surveillance function to obtain aposition fix for the user and provide the position fix to the user overthe communications link. A backup navigation mode is realized in thismanner. Similarly, if the system is unable to perform the surveillancefunction for a particular user device, then the user device maybroadcast its position as determined from the navigation signalsbroadcast from the satellites. A backup surveillance mode is realized inthis manner.

Another benefit realized by the GCNS system is that the processingapparatus is capable of computing the ephemeris of each satellite of theplurality of satellites based upon signals broadcast by each satelliteof the plurality of satellites. Preferably, the processing apparatususes the computed ephemeris of each satellite of the plurality ofsatellites to compare it with the navigation signals being broadcast byeach satellite of the plurality of satellites to ensure that theplurality of satellites are broadcasting correct navigation signals.Because the satellites communicate with each other, the processingapparatus can correct the navigation signals being broadcast by eachsatellite of the plurality of satellites found to be in error. The GCNSsystem can thereby autonomously monitor and correct itself whenincorrect navigation signals are being broadcast by one of thesatellites.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified overview of the GCNS system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the GCNS system of FIG. 1 showing the navigationsignals travelling through the ionosphere to a user device;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the GCNS system of FIG. 1 showing a user devicecommunicating with the satellites of the GCNS system via the ICS signalswith the ICS signals travelling through the ionosphere;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of the GCNS system of FIG. 3 with two user devicescommunicating with the satellites via ICS signals traveling through theionosphere; and

FIG. 5 is a drawing of the GCNS system showing the ability for peer topeer communication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a GCNS system 20 in accordance witha preferred embodiment of the present invention. The GCNS system 20provides communications, navigation and surveillance capabilities to andfrom a mobile user device 22, a monitoring station 24, a master controlstation (MCS) 26, a satellite network access gateway (SNAG) 28 and/or aplurality of satellites 30. The MCS and SNAG are also referred to asground stations.

The GCNS system 20 generally comprises a space segment 31, a terrestrialsegment 32, and a user segment 34. The space segment 31 may include anynumber of satellites 30 needed to provide coverage for any given regionof the earth 38 where mobile user devices 22 are expected to be used.Preferably, there are enough satellites 30 so that a user device 22 iswithin a line of site of at least three satellites 30 and even morepreferably is within a line of site of at least four satellites 30. Thesatellites 30 are time synchronized. As is well known in the art and aswill be explained below, if the user device 22 has a line of sight tothree satellites 30 a position of the user device 22 can be determinedbased upon signals sent between the satellites 30 and the user device22.

In order to provide adequate coverage for the entire earth 38, the GCNSsystem 20 will preferably use between 18 to 30 satellites 30.Preferably, the satellites 30 are high powered medium earth orbitsatellites. However, geosynchronous satellites may also be integratedinto the GCNS system 20. Each satellite 30 is preferably astate-of-the-art digital processing satellite that is programmable onorbit. Because the satellites 30 are programmable on orbit,modifications to services or entirely new services can be introduced asthe system evolves without the need to wait for the satellites 30 to berefreshed. The programmable on orbit capability allows the GCNS system20 to evolve to meet the needs of the civil community.

Each satellite 30 of the space segment 31 carries a Navigation andTiming (NT) payload (not shown) as well as an IntegratedCommunications/Surveillance (ICS) payload (not shown). The satellites 30also include a very large aperture antennae (approximately 20 to 50 feetin diameter) (not shown) to support the ICS capabilities of thesatellites 30. Preferably, at least one of the satellites 30 is capableof measuring the Time of Arrival (TOA) or Time Difference of Arrival(TDOA) of surveillance signals received by the satellites 30, as will beexplained in more detail below. Even more preferably, each satellite 30is capable of measuring the TOA or TDOA of surveillance signals receivedby the satellites 30.

Each satellite 30 is part of a network that allows each satellite 30 tocommunicate with any other satellite 30 of the plurality of satellites30 in the GCNS system 20. Preferably, the network is formed by havingeach satellite 30 connected to at least two other satellites 30 via wideband cross links 40. However, it should be understood that while it ispreferred to use cross links 40, other satellite constellationarchitectures that do not employ cross links 40 are possible and arewithin the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. The crosslinks 40 allow the satellites 30 to transfer data to/from othersatellites 30. The cross links 40 have a high data transfer capacitysufficient to support the communications and surveillance functions ofthe GCNS system 20. The cross links 40 connect all of the satellites 30to form a network with redundant paths so that information can be movedfrom any satellite 30 to any other satellite 30 in the space segment 31via the cross links 40. The cross links 40 are monitored by thesatellites 30 and may be used to develop a range measurement betweensatellites 30. If a satellite 30 fails or is removed from the network,the network is reconfigured by establishing new cross links 40 thatbypass the removed satellite 30 so that the network continues tooperate. In the same manner, a new or repaired satellite 30 can beintroduced into the network. The ICS payload allows each satellite 30 ofthe space segment 31 to operate as a communication switch to routecommunications signals to a desired recipient. The linked space segment31 thereby forms a robust communications backbone through which the fullcapabilities of the GCNS system 20 can be realized.

The network can also be formed by having each satellite 30 directlycommunicating with at least one other satellite 30 and at least oneground station or by having each satellite 30 directly communicatingwith at least two ground stations. The network thereby providesredundant communication paths so that information can be moved from anysatellite 30 to any other satellite 30 in the space segment 31 via thenetwork. The communication between the satellites 30 and the groundstations will be discussed in more detail below.

Preferably, the GCNS system 20 operates on nine frequencies. Thenavigation services provided by the GCNS system 20 build on the servicescurrently provided by GPS. The GCNS system 20 provides ranging ornavigation signals 44 on three different frequencies. Preferably, allthree navigation signals 44 are in frequency bands allocated by the ITUfor Aeronautical Radionavigation Services (ARNS) as well as for RadioDetermination Satellite Services (RDSS). The first navigation signal 45,is preferably broadcast at 1575.42 megahertz and is equivalent to the L1C/A signal used by the GPS today. In addition, the first navigationsignal 45 preferably includes a new set of codes with improved crosscorrelation properties and is broadcast in quadrature with the C/A codesignal. The second navigation signal 46, is preferably broadcast at 1176megahertz and is equivalent to the L5 signal as defined in RTCA DO-261.The third navigation signal 47, is similar in structure to the secondnavigation signal 46. The frequency at which the third navigation signal47 is to be broadcast has yet to be determined. The third navigationsignal 47 is designed to support three frequency carrier ambiguityresolution positioning for the user segment 34.

The integrated communications/surveillance capabilities of thesatellites 30 are performed via the ICS signals 50. The ICS signals 50comprise three signals, C1, C2, and C3 which are indicated as 52, 54,and 56. The ICS signals 50 are preferably one to five megachip spreadspectrum signals similar to those defined in CDMA-2000. The C1 signal 52provides communication from the satellites 30 to the user segment 34and/or the monitoring stations 24. The C2 signal 54 providescommunications/surveillance from the user segment 34 and/or themonitoring stations 24 to the satellites 30. The C3 signal 56 is asecond communications/surveillance signal from the user segment 34and/or the monitoring stations 24 to the satellites 30. The C3 signal 56preferably is at a frequency several hundred MHz above or below thefrequency of the C2 signal 54. In a preferred embodiment, the thirdnavigation signal 47 is placed in the same band as the C1 signal 52 sothat the third navigation signal 47 may also act as a pilot tone forinitial acquisition and synchronization of the user equipment within theGCNS system 20.

The terrestrial segment 32 communicates with the space segment 31 viafeeder link signals 57. However, some components of the terrestrialsegment 32, such as the monitoring stations 24, may communicate with thespace segment 31 via the ICS signals 50. The feeder link signals 57 arecomprised of two signals, FL1 and FL2 58, 60. The FL1 signal 58 is thefeeder link between the terrestrial segment 32 and the space segment 31.The FL2 signal 60 is the feeder link from the space segment 31 to theterrestrial segment 32. Both the FL1 and FL2 signals 58, 60 arepreferably at a frequency band typically used for such feeder links 57,such as the Ka or Ku band.

While the above description of some of the various signals used in theGCNS system 20 have been described with references to specificfrequencies and other properties, it is to be understood that thesedescriptions are provided for exemplary purposes and are not to beconstrued as limiting the scope of the invention as defined by theclaims. Additionally, the frequencies and properties of the varioussignals may change to increase the performance of the GCNS system 20 orto meet regulatory requirements of various government agencies thatcontrol the frequencies on which the GCNS system 20 can operate.

The user segment 34 is comprised of at least one mobile user device 22and preferably a plurality of mobile user devices 22. The GCNS system 20is designed to support simple, inexpensive, integrated mobile userdevices 22. Because the user devices 22 are mobile, the GCNS system 20is designed to support small, lightweight equipment with low powerconsumption requirements. However, it is to be understood that the userdevices 22 will come in packages that range from small hand held unitsto rack mounted base station transceiver units with expandingcapabilities. The mobile user device 22 could comprise aircraft, cruiseships, or any other moving vehicle. Thus, the illustration of the mobileuser device 22 as aircraft in the FIGS. herein should not be construedas limiting the applicability of the system 20 to only aircraft. TheGCNS system 20 is designed to work with all these various types of userdevices 22. Additionally, while the user devices 22 are discussed asbeing mobile, it is not necessary for the user devices 22 to be mobileto operate with the GCNS system 20. The user devices 22 connect to thesatellites 30 via the three ICS signals 50 and the three navigationsignals 44.

The terrestrial segment 32 comprises the MCS 26 and, preferably, one ormore backup MCSs (not shown). The terrestrial segment 32 may alsocomprise the SNAG 28 and any number of monitoring stations 24. The MCS26 and the SNAG 28 facilities are connected to one or more satellites 30of the space segment 31 via the feeder link signals 57 and/or the threeICS signals 50. The monitoring stations 24 are preferably connected tothe satellites 30 via the three ICS signals 50 and the three navigationsignals 44. A processing apparatus (not shown), such as a computer orthe like, is also included in the terrestrial segment 32. As is known inthe art, the processing apparatus monitors the GCNS system 20 andperforms positioning calculations for user devices 22, satellites 30 andany other device connected to the GCNS system 20. The processingapparatus can also control the communications functions of the spacesegment 31. The processing apparatus can be located in the MCS 26 or canbe in a different ground station. It is also possible to have theprocessing apparatus located in one of the satellites 30 of the spacesegment 31.

The MCS 26 is preferably the primary control segment for the GCNS system20. The MCS 26 is responsible for the Telemetry and Control (T&C)communications with the satellites 30. T&C instructions for the spacesegment 31 are delivered to all the satellites 30 via the FL1 signal 58,the network, and the cross links 40, as required, so that T&C commandscan be delivered to or issued from any satellite 30 at any time.Preferably, the MCS 26 is capable of directly communicating with aminimum of three satellites 30 at all times via the feeder link signals57. The network, the cross links 40, and the ability of the MCS 26 tocommunicate simultaneously with a minimum of three satellites 30 via thebackhaul signals 57 results in redundant, full time monitoring andcontrol of the space segment 31. The MCS 26 may also operate as aNetwork Operation Center (NOC)(not shown). The NOC controls theoperations of the communications capabilities of the GCNS system 20. TheNOC may also be separate from the MCS 26. Preferably, the processingapparatus is part of the NOC.

The SNAG 28 provides a connection between the communicationscapabilities of the GCNS system 20 and the terrestrial communicationsnetwork (not shown) in various regions around the world. The SNAGfacilities 28 could be operated by regional service providers or serviceresellers of the communication and surveillance capabilities of the GCNSsystem 20. The SNAG facilities 28 access one or more satellites 30 usingthe feeder link signals 57. Because the SNAG facilities 28 can beoperated by regional service providers or service resellers, the SNAGfacilities 28 do not have T&C capabilities.

The monitoring stations 24 are similar to the user devices 22. Themonitoring stations 24 have navigation receivers (not shown) capable ofreceiving the navigation signals 44 and of receiving and sending the ICSsignals 50. The monitoring stations 24 communicate with the MCS 26 orother appropriate devices within the system (not shown) by communicatingwith the space segment 31 via the ICS signals 50 and the space segment31 in turn communicates with the MCS 26 or other appropriate devices(not shown) via the feeder link signals 57. The monitoring stations 24check various aspects of the navigation signals 44 and the ICS signals50 and sends an alarm via the ICS signals 50 if a problem is found.Otherwise, the monitoring stations 24 report nominal status with a shortburst of data on two frequencies, such as the C2 and C3 signals 54, 56that can be used by the GCNS system 20 to measure ionospheric delay, aswill be discussed below. The short data bursts also protect themonitoring stations 46 from exposure to latent failures. The monitoringstations 24 can check the navigation signals 44 continuously, atscheduled intervals, and/or as requested or polled by the GCNS system20.

The GCNS system's 20 communication services are based on spread spectrumcommunications. The wave forms and signaling protocols are designed tosupport basic data and voice communications. FIG. 5 illustrates atypical peer to peer communications connection between user devices 22.In this example, one user device is on an aircraft flying through theair and the other user device is in a stationary building perhapshalfway around the world. The primary link between either user device 22and a satellite 30 is through a single spot beam 62 on a singlesatellite 30. The communications switching capabilities of thesatellites 30 are used to connect the two user devices 22. The userdevice 22 could also be connected to a monitoring station 24, the MCS26, or a SNAG 28 by using the communications switching capabilities ofthe satellites 30. If the monitoring station 24, the MCS 26, a SNAG 28,or other user device 22 is connected to another satellite 30, as isshown in FIG. 5, one or more cross links 40 and one or more satellites30 may be required to be used to facilitate the connection. Thus, theGCNS system 20 supports user to user or peer to peer communication alongwith communication between all of the components of the GCNS system 20.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the navigational capabilities of the GCNSsystem 20 are shown. The satellites 30 broadcast navigation signals 44from each satellite 30 of the space segment 31. The navigation signals44 contain information related to the position of the satellite 30 fromwhence the signal originated along with the time at which the signal wassent. Preferably, each satellite 30 of the space segment 31 havemultiple atomic clocks and a very accurate system time is transferred toeach satellite 30 of the space segment 31 through the network or crosslinks 40 so that all the satellites 30 are time synchronized and theGCNS system 20 can provide useful navigational services. Thesynchronizing of the time on each satellite 30 is performed by methodswell known in the art. Preferably, the navigation signals 44 broadcastby each satellite 30 of the space segment 31 are three signals broadcaston three different frequencies, as was discussed above. A user device 22receiving the navigation signals 44 broadcast by the satellites 30 cancompute its position based upon the received navigation signals 44, aswill be discussed in more detail below.

The GCNS system 20 also includes a surveillance capability. Thesurveillance capability and the navigation capabilities operate alongthe same principles. As shown in FIG. 3, the user device 22 canbroadcast omni directional surveillance signals 64 to the space segment31 via the C2 and C3 signals 54, 56. Preferably, the surveillancesignals 64 sent by the user device 22 include a special coded sequencedesigned for rapid acquisition and precise determination of the time ofarrival (TOA) of the surveillance signals 64. This coded sequence isused to independently measure the position of the user device 22 when itis using the communication capabilities of the GCNS system 20. To usethis capability, the user device 22, after being turned on, logs in tothe GCNS system 20. The user device 22 negotiates a surveillancereporting interval with the GCNS system 20. Then at the prescribed time,the user device 22 broadcasts omni directionally the coded sequencewithin the surveillance signals 64. The satellites 30 search for thecoded sequence based on the last known or current projected position ofthe user device 22. The surveillance signals 64 are then received bythree or more satellites 30 and, preferably, by four or more satellites30 in order to achieve the best accuracy. Each satellite 30 thencorrelates the received surveillance signals 64 with a local replica ofthe expected coded sequence in order to establish the TOA of the codedsequence within the surveillance signal 64. The surveillance signals 64may also include a sequence that corresponds to other measurementsperformed by the user device 22 or provided to the user device 22 fromanother source. For example, when the user device 22 is on an aircraftthe surveillance signals 64 may include a sequence that informs the GCNSsystem 20 of the barometric altitude of the user device 22 at the timeof the broadcasting of the surveillance signals 64. The fusion of sensorreadings into the surveillance signals 64 to aid in the positionsolution is known to those skilled in the art.

After reception, the TOA, the user ID and any other data attached to thesurveillance signals 64 are forwarded via the cross links 40, FL1 signal58, and/or C1 signal 52 to the processing apparatus. The processingapparatus receives multiple TOA information from each satellite 30 thatreceived the surveillance signals 64 from the user device 22. The TOAalong with the time of transmission from the user device 22 give a timeinterval which can be considered to be a pseudo range measurement fromthe satellite 30 to the user device 22. Preferably, the measure of thetime interval is performed on one or more of the satellites 30 in thespace segment 31 and then communicated to the processing apparatus sothat the processing apparatus is provided with the time interval to beused as a pseudo range measurement from the satellite 30 to the userdevice 22. Given the precise knowledge of the locations of thesatellites 30 that is available throughout the GCNS system 20, thepseudo ranges can be used to solve for the user device's 22 position.Each pseudo range defines the radius of a sphere about the knownposition of the satellite 30 that received the surveillance signals 64.The user device 22 must be positioned on the surface of that sphere.Multiple pseudo ranges define multiple spheres and the position of theuser device 22 must be somewhere on the intersection of the spheres.Thus the GCNS system 20 is capable of determining the position of a userdevice 22 based on the surveillance signals sent by the user device 22.This type of position solution is well known from current GPSapplications and can also be used by the user device 22 to compute theposition of the user device 22 when receiving the navigation signals 44from the GCNS system 20.

Alternatively, Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) techniques may be usedto determine the position of the user device 22 based on surveillancesignals 64 sent by the user device 22. For each set of TOAs, the GCNSsystem 20 can compute N!/(2!(N-2)!) time differences of arrival.Preferably, the TOAs are computed by one or more satellites 30 in thespace segment 31 and then communicated to the processing apparatus whichin turn computes the TDOAs for various satellite pairs. Each TDOAdefines a surface (which happens to be a hyperbola) upon which the userdevice 22 must be in order for the two observers (the two satellites 30that provided the set of TOAs) to see the associated TDOA. MultipleTDOAs define multiple hyperbolas upon which the user device 22 must belocated. Therefore, the user device 22 must be positioned at theintersection of the multiple hyperbolas.

In use, the surveillance capabilities of the GCNS system 20, as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4, can be used to monitor the time delay induced in signalstraveling through the ionosphere 66 which is located between the spacesegment 31 and the terrestrial segment 32 and/or the user segment 34.Preferably, the surveillance signals 64 broadcast by the user device 22are two signals on two different frequencies, such as the C2 signal 54and the C3 signal 56. Even more preferably, the C2 and C3 signals 54, 56are phase coherent and chip synchronous at the phase center of atransmit antenna (not shown) (to the extent possible) on the user device22. The ionosphere 66 will induce different time delays in the twosurveillance signals 64. The relative difference between the two arrivaltimes of the surveillance signals 64 on the two different frequenciescan be used to measure the ionospheric delay induced in signalstraveling through the ionosphere 66, as is known to those skilled in theart. In this way, the GCNS system 20 directly collects information aboutthe ionosphere 66 from any user device 22 that broadcasts surveillancesignals 64 on two different frequencies.

The satellites 30 that receive the surveillance signals 64 transmittedon two different frequencies provide the time of arrival information forboth the C2 signal 54 and the C3 signal 56 to the processing apparatus.The processing apparatus will then compute the delay induced by theionosphere 66 in signals traveling through the ionosphere 66.Alternatively, the difference in the TOAs of the two frequencies may becomputed on the satellite 30 and the result sent to the processingapparatus. Because the surveillance signals 64 are received by multiplesatellites 30 the surveillance signals 64 travel through differentportions of the ionosphere 66. The locations at which the surveillancesignals 64 (or any signals) travel through the ionosphere 66 are calledpierce points. The processing apparatus collects slant range ionosphericdelay measurements for pierce points where the line of sight from theuser device 22 to the satellites 30 passes through the ionosphere 66.Because the electron density of the ionosphere 66 varies throughout theionosphere 66, the delay induced by the ionosphere 66 in signalstravelling through the ionosphere 66 may be different for each piercepoint or specific line of sight between the user device 22 and thesatellites 30. Therefore, the processing apparatus will measure theslant range ionospheric delay for each pierce point based upon the paththe surveillance signals 64 travel to reach the various satellites 30.As is known in the art, an international standard has been created thatdivides the ionosphere 66 into a sampling grid of known coordinates. Theionospheric delay for each pierce point can be used with the grid todevelop a model of the measured ionspheric delay for the various gridlocations for which measurements are available. When the number of userdevices 22 is large, the GCNS system 20 will be collecting ionosphericdelay measurements for a very large number of pierce points and mayallow the development of new grid coordinates that are more compact dueto the large number user devices 22 that provide signals that can beused to measure ionospheric delay. Therefore, the GCNS system 20 mayallow for a denser grid to be created for the ionosphere 66 and resultin a more precise model of time delays caused by the ionosphere 66.

The slant range ionospheric delay measurements can be used to determinea nominal vertical delay at any arbitrary point by interpolating thepierce point measurements after correction by anobliquity factor as iswell known in the art. The nominal vertical delay model of theionosphere 66 developed from the ionospheric delay measurements thenbecomes a resource that the GCNS system 20 can use to compute theexpected delay for any arbitrary line of sight through the ionosphere 66covered by the sampling grid. Because the time delay scales directlywith frequency, ionospheric delay data measured via the surveillancesignals 64 may be used to develop corrections for the delay experiencedby the navigation signals 44 on their respective frequencies. Similarly,the delay model may also be used to determine the ionospheric delay fora single frequency surveillance user.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, when the surveillance signals 64 travel from asingle user device 22 to three different satellites 30 the user device22 has three different lines of sight 70, 72, 74 to the three differentsatellites 30 and the ionosphere is pierced in three different placesbased on the three different lines of sight 70, 72, 74 the surveillancesignals 64 follow to reach the satellites 30. The processing apparatusmeasures the time delay induced in the surveillance signals 64 on eachof the three lines of sight 70, 72, 74. For example, the processingapparatus will measure the time delay in the surveillance signals 64caused by the surveillance signals 64 traveling along line of sight 70of the ionosphere 66. The processing apparatus will do the same for thelines of sight 72, 74.

The number of pierce points by which the ionosphere 66 is sampled isdependent upon the number of user devices 22 broadcasting surveillancesignals 64 and the number of satellites 30 that receive the surveillancesignals 64. As can be seen in FIG. 4, when two user devices 22 arebroadcasting surveillance signals 64, the ionosphere 66 might be sampledby six pierce points that correspond to the six lines of sight 70, 72,74, 76, 78, 80 between the two user devices 22 and the three satellites30 that receive the surveillance signals 64. In this manner, the GCNSsystem 20 uses the user devices 22 to monitor the state of theionosphere 66 and correct for ionospheric induced time delays in thesurveillance signals 46.

Preferably, the processing apparatus broadcasts the vertical delay modelas sampled at an appropriately spaced grid of coordinates. Thecoordinates of the grid are known to the user devices and adhere to asimple numbering system. The coordinate numbers and the correctionfactors can be included in the navigation signals 44 or sent via the ICSsignals 50. Preferably, the user device 22 can receive the correctioninformation along with the coordinate numbers and compute correctionsfor the ionospheric induced time delays in signals from the GCNS system20 received by the user device 22 that travel along the line of sightspecific to the user device's 22 location. This will allow the userdevice 22 to calculate a more accurate position of the user device 22.

The GCNS system 20 also makes it possible for the user device 22 tomeasure the ionospheric delay caused in navigation signals 44 travellingfrom the satellites 30 through the ionosphere 66 and to the user device22. Like the surveillance signals 64, the satellites 30 can broadcastnavigation signals 44 on two different frequencies, such as the firstnavigation signal 45 and the second navigation signal 46. Preferably,the satellites 30 can broadcast navigation signals 44 on three differentfrequencies, as discussed above. When using the user device 22 tomeasure the ionospheric induced time delays, it is preferred that thefirst and second navigation signals 45, 46 be phase coherent and chipsynchronous at the phase center of a satellite transmit antenna (notshown) (to the extent possible) so that the relative difference betweenthe two arrival times of the first and second navigation signals 45, 46can be used to measure the ionospheric induced time delay. The userdevice 22 can then correct for the ionospheric delay in the receivednavigation signals 44 and calculate a more accurate position of the userdevice 22.

The user device 22 can also communicate the results of measuring theionospheric induced time delay to the space segment 31 so that the spacesegment 31 can use the measurements to correct for ionospheric inducedtime delays in signals received by the space segment 31 and/or share thecorrection information with other users of the GCNS system 20. In thisway, the GCNS system 20 directly collects information about theionosphere from any suitably equipped user device 22. Because the userdevices 22 are mobile, the portion of the ionosphere 66 being measuredat any given time by a single user device 22 can vary and measures ofthe ionosphere 66 can be made from locations where terrestrial basedmonitoring stations 24 are impractical, such as over the water.Furthermore, because the line of sight for the ionospheric delayobservations is relatively insensitive to the position uncertainty ofthe user device 22, ionospheric data can be obtained from non-stationaryplatforms such as buoys etc. In this way, the monitoring network can beextended into regions simply not possible for an SBAS which relies onterrestrial communications capabilities.

Because the GCNS system 20 can directly measure the ionosphere 66 fromsignals broadcast by user devices 22 and can collect ionosphericmeasurements made by user devices 22 the need for ground basedmonitoring stations 24 is reduced and can possibly be eliminated in someareas. However, if not enough user devices 22 are actively using theGCNS system 20, monitoring stations 24 can be utilized to fill in anygaps in information about the ionosphere 66. Therefore, the GCNS system20 is preferably designed so that the monitoring stations 24 can also beused to measure the ionospheric induced time delay in signals travelingthrough the ionosphere 66. The monitoring stations 24 can be equippedsimilar to the user devices 22 in that the monitoring stations 24 wouldbe capable of sending surveillance signals 64 on two differentfrequencies and also capable of receiving dual frequency navigationsignals 44 from the satellites 30. The monitoring stations 24 can thenfunction just as the above described user devices 22 function. Becausethe monitoring stations 24 communicate with the space segment 31 via theICS signals 50, the need for a terrestrial based communication networkto connect the monitoring stations 24 to the processing apparatus iseliminated.

The GCNS system 20 can be used to confirm the position of a user device22 calculated by the user device 22. As was described above, the userdevice 22 can calculate its position based on navigation signals 44received by the user device 22. The user device 22 can then communicateits calculated position to the space segment 31 via the C2 signal 54and/or the C3 signal 56. The user device 22 can also transmitsurveillance signals 64 to the space segment 31 so that the processingapparatus can independently compute a position of the user device 22.The processing apparatus can compare the position computed by the userdevice 22 with the position computed by the processing apparatus. If thetwo calculated positions differ by more than a predetermined amountthere may be an error in the GCNS system 20.

When the two calculated positions differ by more than the predeterminedamount, the processing apparatus can check the integrity of the spacesegment 31 to see if an error is occurring in the space segment 31. Theprocessing apparatus can request, via the cross links 40 or the network,the navigation signals 44 being broadcast by each satellite 30 andcompare the navigation signals 44 of each satellite 30 with theephemeris of the satellites 30 to ensure that each satellite 30 isbroadcasting a correct navigation signal 44. If an error in thenavigation signals 44 being broadcast by any of the satellites 30 isfound, the space segment 31 can be reconfigured to exclude the satellite30 that is experiencing the error in its navigation signals 44. When theerror is corrected, the space segment 31 can again be reconfigured toinclude the repaired satellite 30 in the space segment 31. Theprocessing apparatus can report the error to the master control station26 via the FL2 signal 60. Additionally, the space segment 31 cantransmit to the user device 22 via the C1 signal 52 a message indicatingthat an error is occurring in the space segment 31. The user device 22will then know to disregard the affected satellite 30 and compute theposition of the user device 22 based only on healthy satellites 30. Inthis manner, the GCNS system 20 is self monitoring and can autonomouslydetect and correct errors occurring in the GCNS system 20 and the userdevice 22 can obtain its correct position.

If the two calculated positions differ by more than the predeterminedamount and an error in the space segment 31 is not found, the spacesegment 31 can transmit to the user device 22 via the C1 signal 52 theposition of the user device 22 calculated by the space segment 31 and amessage indicating that no error in the space segment 31 has been found.A user of the user device 22 is then aware that the user device 22 maybe malfunctioning and should be checked while also being provided with acorrect position of the user device 22. In this manner, the GCNS system20 enables a user with a malfunctioning user device 22 to continue touse the user device 22 to monitor the position of the user device 22.

The GCNS system 20 can also monitor the ephemeris of the space segment31. The relative ephemeris of the space segment 31 can be determined andmonitored by the space segment 31. Preferably, each satellite 30 isconnected via cross links 40 to three other satellites 30 and even morepreferably to four or more satellites 30. The satellites 30 can transmittheir navigation signals 44 to the other satellites 30 via the crosslinks 40 and the processing apparatus can then compute the position ofany satellite 30 relative to any other satellite 30 of the space segment31 based on the navigation signals 44 and satellite 30 to satellite 30range measurements made via the cross links 40. In this scenario, thenavigation signals 44 are treated as surveillance signals 64 and areused to determine the position of the transmitting satellite's 30position relative to the position of the receiving satellites' 30positions. The relative positions are determined based on the TOA and/orTDOA techniques discussed above. Additionally, the ephemeris of thesatellites 30 relative to the earth can also be determined by the GCNSsystem 20. When three and preferably four terrestrial segment 32components, such as a monitoring station 24, the MCS 26, and/or a SNAG28 receive navigation signals 44 broadcast from the same satellite 30,that satellite's 30 position relative to the earth can be calculated bytreating the broadcast navigation signals 44 as surveillance signals 64and by using the TOA and/or TDOA techniques discussed above. Theephemeris of the remaining satellites 30 of the space segment 31 canthen be determined relative to the satellite 30 whose ephemeris wasdetermined relative to the earth. Because the cross links 40 do nottravel through distorting mediums, such as the ionosphere, whentravelling between the satellites 30, the positions of the satellites 30relative to each other can be more accurately and easily determined. Inthis manner, the GCNS system 20 is capable of precise monitoring of theephemeris of the space segment 31.

Another capability of the GCNS system 20 is the ability to detect andlocate an interference source (not shown) that is interfering with oneof the signals used by the GCNS system 20. For example, when a userdevice 22 is not receiving one of the navigation signals 44 beingbroadcast by the satellites 30, the user device 24 can communicate tothe space segment 31 via the C2 signal 54 or C3 signal 56 that it is notreceiving one of the navigation signals 44. The processing apparatus canthen check the integrity of the space segment 31 and verify that eachsatellite 30 is broadcasting navigation signals 44. If all thesatellites 30 are found to be broadcasting navigation signals 44, eitherthe user device 22 is malfunctioning or something is interfering withthe reception of the navigation signals 44 by the user device 22. Inthis manner, the GCNS system 20 can monitor the reception of thenavigation signals 44 and detect if something is interfering with thereception of the navigation signals 44. If a number of user devices 22all report to the space segment 31 that the same navigation signals 44are not being received, the processing apparatus can determine thepositions of the multiple user devices 22 based on surveillance signals64 sent by the multiple user devices 22 and determine the probablelocation of the interference source. The space segment 31 can thenreport to a desired recipient that interference is occurring and alsothe probable location of the interference source.

Additionally, the space segment 31 can transmit via the C1 signal 52 tothe user devices 22 that are not receiving the navigation signals 44 theposition of the user device 22 calculated by the processing apparatusbased on the surveillance signals 64 broadcast by the user devices 22.In this manner, when a user device 22 is not capable of computing itsposition based on navigation signals 44 received from the space segment31, the space segment 31 can inform the user device 22 of its position.Thus, the GCNS system 20 provides redundancy in the determination of aposition of a user device 22. Similarly, if one of the ICS signals 50 isnot available, the user device 22 can report its autonomously derivedposition based upon received navigation signals 44 to the space segment31 via the ICS signal 50 that is available.

The combination of navigation capabilities along withcommunication/surveillance capabilities provides significantcapabilities to the GCNS system 20. The integrated communicationscapability provides connectivity to the monitoring stations 24. Thissaves the cost of a ground based network to connect the monitoringstations 24 to the processing apparatus. This architecture also enablesa large, reconfigurable network of potentially simple monitoringstations 24. The surveillance signals 64 provide independentmeasurements of the ionospheric delay. In this way, every user device 22can function as a monitoring station for ionospheric delay measurements.This will allow airplanes having a user device 22 on board that areflying over the ocean to provide measurement data about the state of theionosphere 46 where no ground base monitoring station 24 is practical.Connecting the satellites 30 by cross links 40 supports satellite tosatellite ranging for autonomous precise ephemeris determination andmonitoring. Also, very precise orbit information can be generated andprovided as a service for a fee. The two-way ranging provides redundancyfor integrity monitoring. For surveillance applications, the user device22 can broadcast its best estimate of its position. The GCNS system 20can also independently measure the position of the user device 22. Thetwo positions can be compared in order to detect integrity failures.

The ionospheric measurements and precise ephemeris may enabletropospheric measurements to be made, both by simple monitoring stations24 and by the GCNS system 20 itself based on the surveillance rangingcapability. If a sufficient number of user devices 22 or monitoringstations 24 are used in the GCNS system 20, a tomography of theionosphere 66 can be created due to the large numbers of different linesof sight between the user devices 22 and/or monitoring stations 24 andthe satellites 30. The ionospheric delay information can be also used toestimate water vapor content of the atmosphere. Furthermore, if othermeteorological sensors are integrated into the relatively simplemonitoring stations 24, the monitoring stations 24 should enable thedevelopment of a large reconfigurable network of meteorologicalstations.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and,thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention areintended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations arenot to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A system for providing integrated communications,navigation and surveillance information, the system comprising: aplurality of time synchronized satellites networked together, each ofsaid satellites broadcasting navigation signals and being capable of twoway communication and of relaying surveillance signals; and at least onemobile user device, for communicating with said satellites, said userdevice receiving said navigation signals broadcast by said satellitesand using said received navigation signals to compute a position of saiduser device, and wherein each of said satellites broadcasts a firstnavigation signal at a first frequency and sends a communication signalat said first frequency, and said first navigation signal acts as apilot tone for the system.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein saidpilot tone operates for initial acquisition of said user device.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein said each of said satellites broadcaststhree navigation signals at three different frequencies, one of saidthree different frequencies being said first frequency.
 14. The systemof claim 11, wherein said user device is capable of broadcasting asurveillance signal to said satellites, and further comprising aprocessing apparatus capable of two way communication with any of saidsatellites through said network, said processing apparatus receivingsurveillance signals relayed by said satellites and determining aposition of said user device that broadcast said surveillance signal.15. The system of claim 11, wherein each of said satellites hascommunication switching capabilities so that each of said satellites canroute communication signals to a desired recipient.
 16. The system ofclaim 11, wherein said network is formed by each of said satellitesdirectly communicating with at least two other of said satellites sothat redundant communication paths exist and each of said satellites iscapable of communicating with any other of said satellites eitherdirectly or through said network. 17-27. (canceled)
 28. An integratedcommunications, navigation and surveillance information systemcomprising: a plurality of satellites operable to broadcast navigationsignals and a communication signal; and at least one user deviceoperable to receive said navigation signals and determine its positionbased on said received navigation signals, wherein said satellitesbroadcast a first one of said navigation signals and said communicationsignal at a common frequency, and said first navigation signal acts aspilot tone for initial acquisition of said navigational signals by saiduser device with the system.
 29. The system of claim 28, wherein saidsatellites broadcast second and third ones of said navigation signals atdifferent frequencies than said first navigation signal.
 30. The systemof claim 29, wherein said satellites broadcast three navigation signalseach at a different frequency.
 31. The system of claim 28, wherein theuser device is operable to broadcast a communication signal to saidsatellites at a frequency different than that of said communicationsignal broadcast by said satellites and can engage in two-waycommunication with said satellites.
 32. The system of claim 31, whereinsaid user device is operable to broadcast two communications signals andfurther comprising a processing apparatus operable to determine aposition of said user device based upon said communication signalsbroadcast by said user device.
 33. The system of claim 28, wherein saidsatellites are networked together.
 34. The system of claim 28, whereinsaid user device is a mobile user device.
 35. The system of claim 28,wherein said user device registers itself with the system in response toreceipt of said pilot tone.
 36. A method of acquiring and synchronizinga user device with an integrated communications, navigation andsurveillance system, the method comprising: (a) broadcasting acommunication signal from a plurality of satellites at a firstfrequency; (b) broadcasting navigation signals from said plurality ofsatellites, one of said navigation signals being broadcast at said firstfrequency and serving as a pilot tone; (c) receiving said broadcastnavigation signals with the user device; and (d) acquiring the userdevice with the system in response to the user device receiving saidpilot tone.
 37. The method of claim 36, further comprising broadcastingat least one communication signal from the user device to saidsatellites.
 38. The method of claim 37, further comprising determining aposition of said user device based upon said communication signal. 39.The method of claim 36, wherein (b) includes broadcasting at least twonavigation signals from said satellites at frequencies other than saidfirst frequency.
 40. The method of claim 36, further comprisingdetermining a position of the user device based upon navigation signalsreceived by the user device.
 41. The method of claim 40, furthercomprising reporting said determined position of the user device to thesystem.